Well, Shobhana Ma'am decided to throw us a bone, and this is what came out of it. My assignment for literature class, where we had to prove a certain piece of anything - music, sculpture, photograph, a donkey, absolutely anything really - is Art. I decided to do it on Hand hole by Lounge Piranha. Hopefully I haven't ended up massacring it. :-/
Hand Hole
Hand Hole, by Lounge Piranha, is a work of art that exudes sundry emotions and childish conviction, both artfully combined to give us a peep into beauty that is as unblemished, as it is rare.
What caught my attention when it came to this song, was the complete lack of pretension with which the music just flowed from the first strum to the final wail of the unassuming guitars.The music and the lyrics, hand in hand, take you through a series of interconnected strands of thought that could be, or must be, the sum of human existence, as we know it today. The level of understanding between the band members is apparent in it's flawless flow, with nothing there to distract you from it. Not even for a moment do we feel threatened by the music, which at first listen might just seem like "easy listening".
It's only by my third or fourth sitting with Hand Hole that I could finally feel the pull of the song - the soul strewn out in shy little bits, till finally you have a beating heart in your hands and the music filling your being. It's there in the quiet, insistent vocals that plead and demand in equal measure; the wailing guitars that glide high and low giving you images of a tiny red boat rocking on black waves; the bass that comes in intermittent rushes and goes along with the freakishly slow heartbeat of the song; and finally the drums that put the rhythm outside the song, fleshing it out. The arpeggio whirlwind that you catch at the end of the chorus is the one departure that Tambe (the guitarist) decides to make in this song. To me, it's this tiny melody, which sound so heart wrenchingly positive in the midst of all the melancholic wailing, that gives this song its little beauty spot.
The lyrics give this song its artistic value, not just because of the words themselves, but because of the way it's been tattooed into the skin of the music, with persistent vigor. The fact of social alienation and intellectual dumbing down is no stranger to any of us. When Kamal in all its futility mutters, "more than this human", I (if no one else) immediately empathize. The chorus, which is summed up in five words drives in the solution to all our problems, his road to absolution, his Five Commandments, if you will. And if the first verse sounds a tad too defensive, the second stanza is a direct onslaught and it's now the listeners turn to squirm in their chairs. But then the chorus comes in just in time to absolve you of your sins and show you that there's hope after all. The structure reminds me a lot of a Petrarchan sonnet, with the opposing dilemnas presented in two seperate stanzas and a chorus tha gives a kind of summation.
The title of the song makes just one appearance in the whole song, right at the end. It's like this bone you throw to a dog. That's exactly what this phrase does to me. Is Kamal religious? Is he making a political statement? -grin- Is this supposed to be too sacred to be discussed here? What is it's purpose? To me, the ambiguity of the song, is centered right here in the title. For all you know he is just another believer, and we are all being taken for a ride. Or maybe he was just being so naive that he thought we could all see it from the beginning. But when he repeats the phrase over and over at the end, you know that he knows that you know, and thats where I get stumped by this song all over again.
So now that I've vaguely put across my point, I'd like to reaffirm some of the vague things I mentioned earlier. This song Hand Hole, is a work off art, in its purest, most untouched form. The style of the song remains mellow, undramatic and withdrawn, giving away the tone immediately - disillusionment coupled with a splash of hope somewhere in there. It's intention is pure hearted - Be more, Live! To me this song is hope, when I see none (and I mean it) - my light at the end of the tunnel - Hand Hole!
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